Palm Springs International Film Festival has its own star power

"I think Palm Springs is really a film festival that has changed quite a bit," Parker says of the event, which began two decades ago -- it even featured parties at then-Mayor Sonny Bono's house -- and struggled financially in the late '90s. "It has carved out a niche and aura for itself in the independent film world."

Eight years ago at the fest, Parker screened his film "Bartleby," which starred Crispin Glover. Now, his latest film, “(Untitled),” a savvy comedy starring Adam Goldberg and set in the New York arts scene, is premiering on Friday and Saturday. It is one of 14 world premieres at the 20th edition of the Palm Springs festival, which begins tonight with a black-tie award gala, "opens" on Thursday with a screening of "Last Chance Harvey" and winds up Jan. 19 with a "best of the fest" program. All told, the festival will showcase 210 independent films from 73 countries, with 77 premieres.

The event also has its share of star power, especially for the award gala at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Sean Penn, Dustin Hoffman, the cast of "Revolutionary Road," director Gus Van Sant and composer Alexandre Desplat ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") are among those receiving honors this evening.

But more important, "this is an opportunity for filmgoers to see films that are sometimes difficult to see," says festival programmer Helen du Toit. "Seventy percent of the audience at the festival comes in from out of town. . . . They come to a sunny, warm place and watch films all day."

The atmosphere may be laid-back, but filmmakers such as Parker won't exactly be taking it easy. With the economic crisis, "it's a challenging time to be coming out with an indie film," Parker says. "There is a lot of competition, and it's a tough theatrical market, particularly. But there are a lot of opportunities, and we like to think we have a unique voice."

Though he has a distributor lined up to release "(Untitled)" in the fall, Parker is looking forward to "having other distributors see it at the festival or hear about it at the festival. It's our experience it takes a couple of festivals [for distributors] to hear about a movie."